Antibiotics encourage the spread of malaria via mosquitos

January 13, 2015 7:39 PM

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Scientists at the Imperial College London found that when mosquitoes drank blood carrying the two antibiotics they became more susceptible to the parasite that causes malaria -- thus more likely to spread the infection to humans.

Just as antibiotics augment the microbiome of the human gut, penicillin- and streptomycin-laced blood disrupt the guts of mosquitoes and diminish the insects' defenses against disease-causing parasitic protozoans.